How close is close?

The headline in the print edition of today’s Washington Post reads: “Wisc. governor Walker survives recall election: long lines and a close vote.” To say that Walker survived is a way of putting it. And many of the lines apparently were long. But a close vote? I don’t think so.

According to the Post, Walker won by 8 points, 54 percent to 46 percent. In the final count, the margin appears to be 7 points.

That’s the margin by which President Obama defeated John McCain in 2008. Does anybody think that was a close election? Has the Washington Post ever described it that way?